Bangladesh announces first human bird flu victim

DPA Dhaka, May 23 (DPA) Bangladeshi health authorities have announced the detection of the first case of human infection by the H5N1 bird flu virus, officials said Friday. A spokesman for the health department said a 16-month-old child in Dhaka was infected by the virus last January and suffered respiratory problems but she was cured by two weeks of treatment.

A sample of the victim’s blood was sent to the Centre for Disease Control in the United States. A government press statement said the centre in Atlanta had confirmed the presence of the bird flu virus, also known as avian influenza, in the child’s blood.

Later, a team of Bangladeshi doctors who had conducted a thorough medical check-up on the child and found her to be good health.

Health authorities said the situation was under control and there was no reason for panic.

The rapidly growing poultry industry in Bangladesh suffered a serious setback after several outbreaks of the bird flu virus on several poultry farms across the country last year.

The government’s livestock department culled thousands of birds on poultry farms where the virus had been detected. DPA